Adventure Alan and Co: Best Ultralight Water Filters For Backpacking 2025

Best Ultralight Water Filters For Backpacking 2025

After thoroughly analyzing the marketplace and testing most possible combinations, we can officially say that these are the best squeeze based ultralight water filters for backpacking. This guide takes into account not just the filter units, but which vessel to pair each with, what they’re best at, and where in your pack to store them.

Hop onto the PCT this summer and you’ll see that virtually every thru-hiker is using an ultralight squeeze filter. That’s because they’re the fastest, simplest, and most reliable system for both soloists and groups (so long as everyone has their own). As such, we have excluded all of the outdated or nonsensical options, including pumps, straws, UV pens, and gravity-based system. Chemical treatments work great, but aren’t featured here because this guide is specific to ultralight water filters.

Continue reading to learn more about the best ultralight water filters, written by Jaeger Shaw.

Owner & Managing Editor

Jaeger Shaw

Wilderness backpacking is life’s greatest passion for Jaeger Shaw, despite making every possible mistake on a fateful, life-trajectory-altering first trip in 2011. Shortly thereafter, he became obsessed with gear, optimized his kit, and began practicing ultralight techniques – with lots of help from Adventure Alan.

Since then, Jaeger (pronounced Jay-ger) has navigated cross-country routes in Alaska, Patagonia, and the Rockies; knocked out section hikes on the PCT, CDT, AT, and PNWT; enjoyed countless multi-day treks in the mountains and deserts of the American West, and completed nearly all 28 trips in the guidebook, Backpacking Washington.

Focusing his career on the Outdoor Industry, Jaeger worked at Outdoor Research from 2012-2022, collaborated on content with Adventure Alan since 2016, and as of spring 2023, is the owner and managing editor of Adventure Alan & Co. He holds a very high standard when it comes to gear, and always views new hiking products through the lens of performance-to-weight-to-value ratio.

Beyond hiking, Jaeger enjoys complex strategy card games, skiing, running, movies that are so-bad-they’re-good, and is a three-time Seattle Corporate League Ultimate Frisbee champion in partnership with Team REI, (AKA Cotton Kills). His greatest strength is the ability to eat a massive breakfast immediately upon waking up, even at 4am.

Jaeger resides in his hometown of Seattle, WA, land of the Duwamish Tribe. Follow along to read more of Jaeger’s adventures, gear reviews, and recommendations.